Funeral
by Sora Moto
Summary: Shortly after Jack wakes up as Jack Frost he witnesses an odd gathering in the village near his pond. 2-shot.
1. Chapter 1

It was only a day or so after Jack had woken up in his pond that several men came. They had long poles with hooks and they used them to break the ice on the pond before reaching under it with them and scraping around for something. They pulled up several logs and one rock, but seemed disappointed at not finding something. One of the men seemed especially upset at not having found what they were searching for and Jack felt a pang of guilt at seeing the man so saddened.

He followed the men down to the village, being sure to avoid getting in people's way. Once there the sad man was met by a woman and young girl, both seemed upset and when the sad man shrugged and shook his head they all embraced, the little girl crying.

It was later that day, nearing sunset when the people of the village began to gather in a large plain building. Jack followed them in, but kept to the far corners. He was curious about these people and what seemed to be making them all so sad, especially the children. The sad man he had seen at the pond moved to the front and began speaking.

"Thank you all for coming and for your support in these dire times as we say goodbye to a boy that was almost a man."

The man goes on from there and poems and scripture are read aloud by various members of the village. Jack clutches his staff to himself tightly as he, on some instinctual level, understands that this is a solemn occasion. He may not know this 'Jackson Overland', but he felt sorry for the family at his loss. As the gathering progresses Jack watches as several children step forward and share stories of how 'Jack' would always play with them and tell them stories.

Eventually things wound down and Jack watched as people slowly filtered out of the meeting hall and to their homes. Many stayed to offer their condolences to the family and Jack found himself wishing he could touch and be heard by them to offer comfort.

* * *

I based the funeral on the customs of the Quakers in colonial times. I did quite a bit of looking into them in order to get things right. For this I placed Burgess in Pennsylvania, at the time Jack died it would have been a largely Quaker population in the area. If you would like to learn more, let me know and I will gladly share the link I used for my research.

There will be more to this, but I felt it best to break things up a little.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, had actually intended this to be a one shot, then forgot that I wanted to to write this part. When I remembered I had already posted the first half of the story so I figured I'd just add the rest on as a second chapter. Please enjoy.

* * *

Jack studies his tooth box while curled up on a high window sill in the globe room at the North Pole. After defeating Pitch they had all come back here to celebrate, only thing was Jack didn't much feel like celebrating. He looked below him at the happy faces as the other Guardians welcomed Sandy back and talked about their individual victories during the fight. Every now and then Jack would see one of them looking up at him but they seemed to realize he wanted to be alone.

He sighs heavily and fingers the box once again. Now that he remembered who he was things he saw when he first woke up were making more sense to him and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. He had been there for his own funeral, but he hadn't known that at the time. Closing his eyes he thought back on that memory and the faces of his family, turned down in sorrow, and the faces of the children. They had mourned him as much as his family had. In the bleak world they had lived in Jack had been a beacon of fun and light. He made sure they always took time to play each day, even if it meant doing their chores for them.

Jack opens his eyes at hearing a light plink sound. He looks down and another reaches his ears. He notices a little bead of ice hitting the tooth box this time and wonders where it came from before seeing another fall. Reaching up he feels one form at the corner of his eye before tumbling down his cheek, he was crying. The realization hit him hard and he felt himself choke back a sob. He leans forward, wrapping his arms around his knees, tooth box safely held on his lap. He felt his shoulders shaking slightly as he let himself cry.

One of the others must have noticed his position because he found himself looking up at Tooth when she lays a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Jack?"

"Oh, hey Tooth." Jack wipes at his eyes, a failing attempt to hide his icy tears.

"What's wrong Sweettooth?"

"Oh, nothing, really, I'm fine."

"Then why are you crying?"

Instead of answering Jack looks down at his tooth box. Picking it up he hands it back to her.

"Thank you for letting me borrow this."

Tooth watches Jack as he floats down to where the others are, all of them seem concerned about their youngest member.

"Jack, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. You guys don't need to worry so much."

Sandy seems to notice the box Tooth is now carrying and puts the pieces together. He mimes Jack telling them as he rests a hand on the boy's shoulder.

His grip tightens on his staff before he speaks. "I was just remembering. My sister and I went Ice skating on the pond near our house. There was thin ice and she got caught on it. I managed to get her off, but I traded her place for mine and I was the one that fell through. I hung around for a while after that, after Manny brought me back, and I was there when, when they had my funeral."

The ice was falling once again from Jack's eyes and he found Tooth pulling him into a warm embrace, he leaned into it and let himself cry against her shoulder. The others were all just as shocked to learn that Jack had died to become who he is now.

After that the night turned from one of celebration to comfort. They each understood some of the pain he must be feeling, even if none of them had experienced all of it as he had.


End file.
